


Fallout: Sternbild Injustice

by MarchWindsAprilShowers



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fallout, Alternate Universe - Future, Brotherhood of Steel (Fallout), F/F, F/M, Gen, Heroes, M/M, Multi, Other, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Nuclear War, Raiders, Rust Devils - Freeform, Wasteland Commonwealth, ouroboros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-06-25 17:59:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15645999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarchWindsAprilShowers/pseuds/MarchWindsAprilShowers
Summary: A kid just looking for his parents, and a widower father struggling to bring justice to the wasteland in the aftermath of the nuclear war as he unknowingly works under the enemy.And together, they end up making the start of something big.





	1. Prologue

When the bombs fell, he was only four years old. But, he remembers seeing the bright orange mushroom cloud and the smoke curl over the ground right as he was descending down the vault’s elevator, hand clutching tightly at his mother’s. He starting crying, not only because it was loud and scary, but because his house and everything in it was obliterated. The animals he loved at the zoo the day before would die. The city he knew would be gone, and he would probably forget what the sky looked like. 

For a week, the vault would tremor as the nuclear war didn’t seem to end. All the hurt, death, destruction, mixed with broken hearts and bones stayed in place until the silence of death swept across what would be nothing but a wasteland. The overseer loved the term ‘wasteland’, alone with ‘the wastes’, ‘new Sternbild’, and ‘the new commonwealth’. 

“Mr. Overseer, do you think people are alive out there?” 

“Will Sternbild be rebuilt?” 

“Are the stages still there?” 

It didn’t matter how many questions the children asked: the answer was always a firm and faux apologetic ‘no’. The former mayor wouldn’t waste his time trying to explain the scientific and political mumbo jumbo to a bunch of grade schoolers who haven’t earned their Pip-Boy 3000’s yet. He’d wait until they were older, at least before they’ve taken their generalized occupational aptitude test at the tail end of all the education Vault 31. He’d tell them the truth, enough to scare them into never leaving, and assigning them jobs to keep the vault running.

It didn’t scare three vault dwellers though, along with two of their creations that took Sternbild by storm: a Mr. Handy (a robotic butler/maid) who went by ‘Oswald’ and a protectron (an armed robot) named ‘Davy’. They were adults; unimpressionable and scientists who built the robots themselves. They were convinced that their robotic genius and work could change the wasteland as far as anyone knew it, that people were out there needing their help. The overseer thought otherwise, banning them from leaving. But, that didn’t stop them. 

The scientists were the first ones who signed up with Vault-Tec Corporation. Emily Brooks with her husband Barnaby and a colleague named Albert Maverick. Sirens blared, shots were fired by security trying to stop them- and in the middle of it all, Barnaby and Emily made time to feverishly kiss their only son goodbye and not promise their return. Maverick could only spare him a goodbye thrown over his shoulder as he disappeared down a hallway with a pistol in hand. Samantha, the scienceless godmother, was the only one who tearfully stayed behind. 

There were people who didn’t even know the true destruction of the nuclear bombs, who didn’t even know the radio broadcasts that told of the rogue scientists that escaped the paradise of the  vault, who didn’t even know that the Sternbild was a wasteland barely being rebuilt. Not that they were lied to about the wasteland- they were lied to about their survival itself. Cryostasis right as the nuclear war started was still in a testing phase which made it illegal to use. But, with the date of the bombs being earlier than expected, the people panicked. 

Especially since Oriental Town was the first place to be bombed before the battle took over the city. It was mainly because it was a nowheresville, a place of cow shit and long, summer days. It’s a place that would provide the least amount of casualties, but close enough to Sternbild herself to invoke a reaction. 

The people begged Sternbild’s City Heroes for help, but they never responded. Feeling abandoned, the first vault that was ever built resided on the edge of town. Vault-tec took over once the hole was dug through. No one would know what it held until the time came that people ran for their lives, grabbing whatever was important in their heist to safety. 

Once frozen, most perished after a half century. Others with a little more fight in them ended up kicking the bucket after the second century. The last three- two men and a young girl were still frozen and still alive. They were here way before the war, but paranoia and war propaganda convinced Oriental Town into paying for Vault-Tec’s protection. That is, even if it meant that their methods of protection was made ambiguous other than the people’s assumptions.

Maybe the kid took too much after his parents, and maybe the widow on ice couldn’t sit back and watch nothing be done. 

Just give them two more decades- then it’d be the start of something big. 

They’ll turn the whole damn state of New York upside down. 

In Sternbild’s Fallout. 


	2. Leaving the Vault

The kid of the vault traitors now loved science, spent most of his time in the old lab once his generalized occupational aptitude test was taken or as everyone else lovingly called it, the ‘GOAT’. It took him a while to get over his parents leaving and the high possibility of them being dead. He mourned the loss and jumped right into work, helping to make things from medical supplies to robots like Mr. Handy’s to help keep the vault clean or functional- or both. The only reason he was able to build them was because of the few blueprints and notes his parents left behind. He wasn’t the greatest  _ yet _ , but he was getting there and proving people right in his interest for robotics. It made the overseer more worried that Barnaby Brooks Jr., who took a lot after his parents, would leave just like the former scientists did. 

The young man proved no one wrong. Once Samantha died of old age and some radiation poisoning, as well as the kids he grew up with became comfortable, Barnaby found no reason to stay. Without a warning or even giving anyone the slightest hint, he gathered up as much supplies as he could. Radaways, stimpacks, a week’s supply of food and purified water, extra clothes, a couple extra pairs of glasses, a knife, and a ten millimeter pistol with plenty of rounds. Surprisingly, all of it was able to fit in a large backpack after he logged each item into his pip-boy. 

The sirens began blaring after he hacked into the overseer’s computer which was tucked away in the former mayor’s office. He opened the hatch to the elevator that would lead to the vault door, quickly slamming the button which shot him up the shaft. He was almost bouncing impatiently as he pressed the buttons on the control board just outside of the circular lid that looked twenty years old too. It finally rolled aside, revealing the short tunnel to the outside world. With his gun tight in a cold hand, he sprinted through it as the guards began yelling and charging towards him. He hesitated opening the final door that was without a lock and rickety. Green eyes glanced back at his home, realizing he couldn’t return. He couldn’t come back after betraying the vault. But, something inside him made that okay- like he didn’t them anyway. Taking a deep breath, he slipped outside. All that was remembered of him was his bright blue jumpsuit with the number thirty-one written on the back of it in a warm yellow.

What hit the young man first was the bright, morning sun. It blinded him for a minute, making tears flow down his cheeks where the warmth settled and dried up the wet tracks. He lifted up an arm to create some kind of shade, waiting for the white light covering his vision to fade away. All he could think about was how hot it was, the overwhelming brightness, the wind seeming to flow through him, and the air feeling lighter. There was this smell- it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. It was a mix of something burnt and something a little woodsy. That suburb scent he knew was long gone, as well as the sterile scent of the vault.

Once Barnaby was focused, he just stood there, looking around for the longest time. 

The second nuclear war had taken its toll. 

His brain screamed ‘barren’ over and over. The naked trees, broken tree stumps, dead and yellowing grass, and dilapidated houses just beyond. He could make out the craters that the bombs had created, the one where he vaguely remember his house being had what looked to be crows circling over it. In the distance, he could make out a large cluster of buildings. And for a minute, he felt hopeful; like if he were to visit there, he would find someone who’d understand. 

He had seen the destruction in pictures and described vividly by books or words of the people old enough to remember what everything looked like. The travelers and caravans that would visit the underground sanctuary had stories to tell, mainly for the children with too many questions. They would crowd around in the atrium before bed, mouths open in awe, eyes wide as they hung onto every word. It was better than trying to fuzzily remember that white picket fence aesthetic on the gold stage just outside downtown.

Even Barnaby is considering that his memory isn’t anything to go by. As he is finally able to take a look at the sky, he wanted so badly to say that it was exactly how he remembered it. He hated admitting that it lost a bit of it’s vibrance, and although he felt welcomed by it, it stared back at him with this uncertainty. 

And now cutting through it was a giant airship blimp, bright yellow and red with silver scratched into it like the nuclear war hadn’t finished eating it yet. Connected on either side dropped vertibirds that flew separate ways from their mother. There was a loud, booming voice to match. 

_ “Citizens of the commonwealth wasteland,”  _ A deep, woman’s voice rang.  _ “Do not interfere as our intentions are peaceful. We are the Sternbild Heroes of the Brotherhood of Steel. Thank you for your cooperation as we travel to our new headquarters at Poseidon Line Airport.” _

Green eyes watched in awe and surprise. He hadn’t expected the survivors of the war to be this advanced, not in only twenty years time. It further proves that what were dubbed as his ‘beliefs’ were fact. People  _ did  _ survive and began rebuilding Sternbild the best they could. He needed to find Poseiden Airport- maybe a Sternbild Hero could help him find his parents. He was confident they survived now, and he was now keen on helping to rebuild the city too. He wanted to roll up his sleeves with everyone else.

Barnaby’s pip-boy beeped, which was new, making him examine it closely. The Vault-Tec mascot on the screen gave him a thumbs up around the words ‘map updated!’. Map updated? The only map issued in these machines were of the vault layout which he hardly ever used. There was no wasteland map or what their home used to be. Yet, the first thing that popped up was ‘City of Sternbild’, the local time which was two o’clock in the afternoon, and north east from Vault 31 was Top MaG. He remembers it being a building?  Maybe if people were there, they could point him in the direction of the airport. Either way, his feet were itching to begin the journey.

On this day, five years ago, cryopod four in Vault 17 began unfreezing its host. The door opened as soon as it was finished, causing the Japanese man to fall to his hands in knees, coughing as if he was taking his first breath of air. He scrambled to his feet, shakily making his way to his five year old daughter’s pod. Praying to anyone who was listening that she was okay, he went to the control pad belonging to the machine. It said that Kaede Kaburagi had five minutes left to go, but obliged onced the emergency released was ordered. After a few loud hissing sounds, the young girl began to gasp and cry. She started calming down once she was scooped up and into her father’s arms as he leaned on the door for support. They shivered and got their bearings- another pod began hissing only minutes after their reunion. 

A large, burly Latino man coughed and hacked to life as he found the floor as well. His skin was pale, and he had a tough time getting to his feet. His breath was shaky- he was cold too. 

“...Antonio!” The other man exclaimed breathlessly before stumbling over to him. 

Green eyes looked back at him in surprise. “Kotetsu!” He gasped. “What happened!? We were supposed to-” 

“Th-They froze us,” Kotetsu answered, still catching his breath and trying to warm up. His daughter on his hip who held onto him tightly. “I think.” He took another look around, amber eyes settling on a few other pods. “Yeah. We...We were frozen.” 

Antonio clambered up, using the door of the pod for support. “For how long?” 

“Wish I could tell ya.”

“How’s kiddo?” The uncle asked, rubbing the girl’s back. 

The father gave his best friend a half smile. “She’s fine. Just cold. But, I’d like a doctor to look at her just to make sure.’ 

“What do we do now?”

“See if there are others and then get out of this damn place.”  

“My thoughts exactly.” 

The two men went up and down the rows of frozen vault dwellers, the control pads flashing the words ‘error’ and ‘deceased’. Kotetsu found his older brother and mother, tightly gritting his teeth as the tears rolled to keep it together in front of his daughter. Antonio found his foster parents and was a little more open with his grieving. They tried their best to comfort each other as they moved on to find the vault’s exit. 

“We’re the only ones left!” Antonio nearly sobbed as they found a cafeteria-like room. There were two bench tables with a full kitchen behind it. “How could they do that!? We were lied to!” 

“I know! Trust me,  _ I know.”  _ Kotetsu sniveled, squeezing Kaede tightly. “We just have to keep calm and keep moving. We’re not the only ones who survived. There has to be someone out there.” 

The two searched the place, and found no food. They did find a room connecting to the kitchen; a large bedroom filled with eight bunk beds with foot lockers at the bottom of each one on either side. Only half of them left unlocked, five of them containing extra backpacks, jumpsuits, flashlights, knives, and blankets. The two men each filled a backpack, Kotetsu using one of the blankets to wrap his daughter in one. They were happy to find a first aid kit in both bathrooms- unsure of the couple syringes they found but the basic stuff from gauze to aspirin were appreciated. 

The next room they found was across the cafeteria. It looked like a locker room, benches and towels strewn about with the lights on like whoever used it was about to come back in. Two of the open lockers had guns- one a ten millimeter pistol and the other a combat shotgun. Boxes of ammunition rested at the bottom. 

Antonio handed his best friend the pistol- the guy needed one hand on his kid. Kotetsu took it, almost reluctantly. “We...we may need it.” He mumbles, mainly for himself. Anything could happen. It was a father’s and a hero’s job first to protect.

The larger man took the shotgun and began loading it. “I don’t want it to have to come to that either, but…” Sternbild Heroes didn’t believe in capital punishment. Where there even heroes anymore? What had happened the entire time they were frozen? “Who knows?” 

They walked down a long, winding hallway- finally, the vault door was there. The control pad rested in front of it without a soul in sight. Antonio did the honors of opening the vault, scaring all three of them when the siren blared soon after. The door rolled out of the way, the outside shown before them. The two looked at each other before walking out. 

The day’s sun doesn’t blind them completely, the broken road that led to the vault was their guide. They kept their eyes peeled for any sign of intelligent life after taking in all the destruction of the war. Anything green was dead or discolored- history. The sky’s attempt at blue almost succeeded, broken streets and sidewalks only gave anyone memories instead of being slightly functional. It made them wonder how long the pointless battle went on. The two men needed anyone at this point,  _ someone  _ to tell them what to do and where to go. 

“W-Where’s Gramma and Uncle Masa?” Kaede asked worriedly as soon as they step foot outside. Her big, amber eyes stared expectantly at her father.

“They…” Kotetsu begins shakily. “They went to heaven with Mommy.” 

Before the girl could even let out a pained sob, someone near them screamed for help. The anguished cry came from behind the two men who then dashed to the source. There were gunshots that followed the noise which made an excellent guide for the vault dwellers. They soon found themselves at what was the Oriental Town Police Station. The building itself was still intact, but the signs and symbols telling whoever passed by what it was were long gone.

A man dressed in heavy, metal armor that was twice anyone’s size was standing in front of a woman dressed in heavy robes propped up against the doors of the building. Her hand was clutching at her side which barely covered the huge bloodstain. Her other one was holding a gun, a laser pistol, aiming it upwards at the creatures they were being attacked by.

They were outnumbered by what looked to be zombies. The four of them had the bodies of humans, but with yellowing skin and parts of it just sloughing off. Their heads looked like they were in the middle of melting, long fingernails stretching from their hands like claws. Wretched, gritty sounds came from them. They kept hitting and trying to grab them, but the bullets shooting through their decaying flesh was enough to keep them at bay.

“Kaede! Close your eyes and stay behind me!” Kotetsu exclaimed as he put her down, cocking the pistol. Antonio was already hurrying over to the two strangers in trouble. 


	3. The Airport

The radio played the kind of blues that only made Barnaby homesick for life before the bombs and his living quarters in the vault. And although the song came from a time of class and sophistication, a good twenty years before he was born, it somehow matched the old, golden lit shack that Topmag called ‘Bar Number 06’. The walls were obviously made of scrapped sheets of metal that either had bullet holes or were rusting- or both. The floor was just broken up tile that somehow survived the war, the wooden bar itself was wearing scratches with what looked like a bit taken out of the middle that was fixed with scrapped materials. The stools were the only things that  _ really  _ survived what the world put through- they barely had any scratches, and the red cushion part of them were sewn back together black thread. There was a second floor to the place, but the young man wasn’t interested to go there yet.

The blonde didn’t mind it that much, he hadn’t expected there to be real rebuilding at all, and it was place to get off his feet. They were aching the entire time he sat there alone with a cold bottle of cola in his hands, the condensation making them wet. He still felt sick, mainly from reflecting on today’s earlier events. He had a run in with giant cockroaches, radiation roaches or radroaches for short, which he had to kill before when they’d dig their way into the vault. What really made him  _ ill,  _ down to his stomach, was the wild dog that came at him from out of the blue. Green eyes barely had time to look before two gunshots broke through the wasteland’s silence. Although his forearm had a good bite in it, the pain from it paled in comparison to the sight before him. He had shot the animal twice- one bullet making a star shaped hole in the left eye and the other one went through it’s forehead which gave the murderer a view of a destroyed brain. The smell that was left behind- the memory is enough to make him gag. 

And when he feels like doing that, another sip of bubbly, Legend Cola scratches its way down his throat and settles his stomach. He looked down at the bar’s attempt at being somewhat shiny, and knew that people were staring at him. It was mainly because the jumpsuit’s colors and his pipboy were obnoxious compared to the normal, dark wasteland attire. He heard someone whisper that he looked like a cherub and that they wouldn’t mind taking him upstairs- and that’s when he decided to slam some caps on the table. 

“You should get someone to look at that,” The ghoul bartender suggests as he gestures to the dried blood and teeth marks on his arm. “You don’t wanna catch the kind of diseases the animals out here carry. We got a couple o’ doctors upstairs- they’ll treat you for a small fee.” Then he grinned, the warped, leathery skin showed all of his wrinkles and whatever whiteness in his teeth standout. “But, I’ll give ya the room next to their office to  _ borrow  _ for the night _.  _ I don’t think I’ll be seeing you again tomorrow,  _ blue.”  _

A brass key was slid his way, the young man reluctantly taking it. “Thank you.” 

“Good luck gettin’ to the airport. The route I gave ya is the safest one in the wastes.” 

“Why are you being so nice?” Green eyes were lit and narrowed in suspicion. In the vault, they were taught that the people out in the wastes were only cheering for their own team. Survival of the fittest, every man for himself, the home of the heartless, yada yada- and Barnaby has experienced people using him for their own benefit. 

The bartender shrugged, his easy smile unfazed. “Well, you brought in some customers just by walkin’ in with the vault get up. Most of the people here don’t even know what a vault looks like. I figured I owe ya. You scratch my back, I scratch yours…” He trailed off. “Go get some sleep. Ya need it.” 

“Well...thank you.” He says quietly, maybe smiling a little. He felt eyes watching him leave out the entrance. As soon as the door swung closed behind him, everyone’s conversations seemed to carry on at once like a chorus.

The TopMag building had a huge, gaping hole in the glass at the top. Cracks were in the concrete, the lights of the elevator blinked but none of them worked. It would have looked more abandoned if it weren’t for the survivors turning this place into a small town. The stairs were mostly intact but he still had to be careful on his way up. He followed the signs to find the doctors who were no nonsense and straight to the point, which was something he didn’t mind. 

Stinging disinfectant, a couple stitches, and a bandage later, he was finally able to rest. As soon as he laid on the small bed, his body felt like the heaviest thing on Earth. He didn’t have time to stare at the ceiling and collect his memories from today’s events as his brain began to shutdown. 

“Elder Joubert! Elder Joubert!” The young woman calls hastily that morning, bursting through her office door. Out of breath, she marches up to her boss’s desk and salutes. 

“I’m trying to figure out who the hell I can spare to answer this damn distress call from one of our paladins. This better be good, Scribe Rose.” Agnes growls through the cigar between her lips. She shut off the radio pointedly. “At ease, soldier.” She mumbles.

Mary Rose nodded, her hands behind her back. “Yes, mam. There’s someone who wants to speak with you. He’s from a vault and wanted our assistance in finding his parents.”

“A vault? There are still people in those?” She shook her head instead of waiting for an answer, suddenly standing up. “Take me to him. He needs to prove himself before we just let him in. For all we know, he could be a raider.” 

“Of course, mam.”

Barnaby stood patiently at the airport, feeling a little uncomfortable with the way the guards were staring. The one by the door had their weapons aimed at him- both carrying large gatling lasers to pulverize him if he so much as moved an inch. Even if he did fight back, it wouldn’t do anything to penetrate the heavy, metal armor with some strange insignias on the fron. Who knew someone could care about a ruined, oversized, airport with indigo and gold accents so much…

“Here he is, mam.” The young man hears the some woman say, opening the door to reveal a tough, older woman. One side of her head is shaved, the rest flowing down the shoulder of her uniform. She was wearing a black jumpsuit, the legs tucked into steel toed combat boots. Over it all was a heavy, padded leather battlecoat with fur on the collar and lapels, the same strange insignia on the shoulder. A scar ran across her right cheek, showing through her makeup which also consisted of dark eyeshadow, eyeliner, and bright red lipstick. 

“I am Elder Agnes Joubert, the general of the Sternbild fleet. My scribe tells me that you are an escaped vault dweller interested in the Sternbild Heroes and are looking for our assistance.” Her voice was the same booming alto he heard from the blimp. “However, as much as we’d like to help everyone in the commonwealth, we cannot afford to be so trusting and are somewhat limited in our abilities. The risk is too great.” 

“What can I can do?” Barnaby asks, not caring if he sounds desperate. “I’m willing to do anything to find my family at this point.” 

“Well, that’s what I was getting to.” She says, sounding a little annoyed. “To prove your trust and loyalty to our faction, you need to help us before we help you. Recently, I got a distress call from one of our paladins. Let me see your pip-boy.” The general walked forward, grabbed his forearm. After a few beeps, she let him loose. “I put in the coordinates of the location of the distress call. You bring our paladin or his dog tags back, we will lend you our support and allow entrance into the airport.” She turned around, walking back into the palace she ruled. “Good luck. We hope to see you again soon.” Is thrown over her shoulder. 

The blonde’s face hardened with determination. Without any last words, he turned around and began his next journey. Looking at his map, this could take him a few hours to get there. It’s risky and mysterious; but he knows that his parents put more on the line. All he did was pulled up his bootstraps. 

“I bet he doesn’t come back.” The guard on the left side of the door says once Barnaby was out of earshot. “Ten caps.” 

The right snorted. “I agree, but I think he has some potential. I bet he  _ does  _ come back. Raise that to fifteen. I’m feeling confident today.” 


End file.
